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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
Paul Holes is a former Criminalist with the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office. Holes had an interest in working cold cases and helped on some of the most notorious crimes, including Laci and Conner Peterson, Jaycee Dugard, and the infamous Golden State Killer. Holes delves into his involvement on these cases as a Criminalist, an expert in the use of scientific methods to investigate crimes. Holes job was to accompany investigators to crime scenes in order to collect evidence to analyze. His job is beyond fascinating and I enjoyed learning about the process behind DNA analysis and how something as tiny as a fragment of DNA could be the smoking gun that solves the case. In addition to some of the more well known cases Holes worked, he talks about his family life and how it suffered due to his dedication to his job. Holes also opens up about his struggles with anxiety and PTSD from his years on the job. I can only begin to imagine all of the horrible scenes that Holes witnessed.
Unmasked is a truly interesting and unique memoir. Celadon Books graciously provided copies to my book club and we had an amazing discussion. (Thank you Celadon! #partner) The general consensus was that everyone enjoyed the book. Some liked the true crime aspect more, while others enjoyed Holes opening up about his failed marriage and home life struggles. My consensus? This one is a quick read and if you are a true crime fan, you will enjoy it. I read this one after I finished the audiobook for I'll be Gone in the Dark and it complemented the book perfectly. I did have to remind myself that I was reading a book by a former law enforcement officer, not an author by trade. Because of that, there was some repetition and the book could have been written better.
Unmasked is a truly interesting and unique memoir. Celadon Books graciously provided copies to my book club and we had an amazing discussion. (Thank you Celadon! #partner) The general consensus was that everyone enjoyed the book. Some liked the true crime aspect more, while others enjoyed Holes opening up about his failed marriage and home life struggles. My consensus? This one is a quick read and if you are a true crime fan, you will enjoy it. I read this one after I finished the audiobook for I'll be Gone in the Dark and it complemented the book perfectly. I did have to remind myself that I was reading a book by a former law enforcement officer, not an author by trade. Because of that, there was some repetition and the book could have been written better.
I wanted to like this, but the last thing I was after was another book mostly about the Golden Gate killer. The author is a very sympathetic character, but I had hoped for more variety in terms of the cold cases.
I really appreciate the way this is written. It's like a real case story of his career and it's effects on his personal life. A continuous theme of GSK, but some other really excellent crime recaps along the way.
That was intense. I listen to a couple podcasts that Paul is on and really like them. I used to think I would be good at his kind of job/that it’s super interesting. Still think it’s interesting, but now know I am probably not cut out for it…
Enjoyable enough to listen to but the way the narrative flows could have been arranged better in order to have a clear message. It's like the author couldn't decide if the sacrifices he made in focusing on work more than his family were worth it or not.
Other than that, his descriptions of the crimes were very interesting (but horrifying to read), and I enjoyed how the author discussed all the setbacks that prevented cases from being solved for years, such as departments refusing to work together. I also enjoyed the science talk on DNA use and how forensic DNA testing compared to geneologic DNA testing in terms of family ancestry.
Other than that, his descriptions of the crimes were very interesting (but horrifying to read), and I enjoyed how the author discussed all the setbacks that prevented cases from being solved for years, such as departments refusing to work together. I also enjoyed the science talk on DNA use and how forensic DNA testing compared to geneologic DNA testing in terms of family ancestry.
I love everything about this. I’m literally obsessed with Paul Holes. It was so interesting to hear about his life and the way his mind works. All of the different cases and all of the victims were covered so respectfully… you truly get an understanding of his passion
dark
informative
medium-paced
Chilling yet fascinating, especially as a companion to I’ll Be Gone in the Dark.
3.5 stars
If you follow true crime then, odds are, you know who Paul Holes is. I do so I went in fully expecting to absolutely love this. I shouldn't have done that. What I wasn't expecting was to find how he portrays himself kind of off-putting. It IS a memoir so, of course, he is writing about himself. But it came across as very woe is me-ish. Clearly he's good at his job but that came with major sacrifices. I can appreciate his dedication to solving these crimes and trying to bring the victims justice..but it was Holes himself who took me out of the book.
Do I dislike the book? No. I'll probably just stick to his podcasts though. Is it worth a read? Yes. I think that if you're new to true crime, you'll like this book more because you'll know less about the cases. He focuses a lot on the GSK case...which is a very big well known case...unless you don't really follow true crime. All in all it was an okay read for me.
If you follow true crime then, odds are, you know who Paul Holes is. I do so I went in fully expecting to absolutely love this. I shouldn't have done that. What I wasn't expecting was to find how he portrays himself kind of off-putting. It IS a memoir so, of course, he is writing about himself. But it came across as very woe is me-ish. Clearly he's good at his job but that came with major sacrifices. I can appreciate his dedication to solving these crimes and trying to bring the victims justice..but it was Holes himself who took me out of the book.
Do I dislike the book? No. I'll probably just stick to his podcasts though. Is it worth a read? Yes. I think that if you're new to true crime, you'll like this book more because you'll know less about the cases. He focuses a lot on the GSK case...which is a very big well known case...unless you don't really follow true crime. All in all it was an okay read for me.